Carmel City Council President responds to letter from Mike Shaver

Dear Editor,

On March 18, Mr. Shaver addressed the Carmel City Council claiming Carmel taxpayers were unprotected regarding buildings not yet constructed in Carmel City Center. Unfortunately, before given an opportunity to respond, Mr. Shaver made the same claims in a letter to the editor the very next day.

Therefore, I thought it important to share the response I sent to him via email with your readers:

Dear Mr. Shaver,

I have reviewed your concerns presented to the City Council on March 18, 2019 and offer the following information to address your questions. I grant you that the project is not yet fully constructed, but through many years of experience with projects of this magnitude, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission anticipated your very concern and took appropriate steps to protect the Carmel taxpayer.

In the case the Developer did not complete the buildings on time or fail to build them at all, the CRC required Developer Guarantees (as referenced in your statements). Attached is a graphical representation of the multiple layers of protection for this project.

As detailed below, the Developer is paying the bonds as required by the contract (the first level of protection) in the following amounts. The next PIATT payments are due July of 2019.

7/31/18      $14,026.57

7/31/18      $17,952.44

1/23/19     $14,026.56

1/23/19     $17,952.44

Total          $63,958.01

In addition, the Holland and Playfair Buildings are going to permit this month. The East Garage Retail is under construction now. The Wren, West Garage Retail and Windsor are not yet under construction but anticipated soon. The Hotel/Motor Court is where the hotel is now under construction.

I trust this will alleviate your fears and please let me know if I can be of further service.

Jeff Worrell

Carmel City Council, President